A Brooklyn wine warehouse employee died Monday afternoon after being shot in the back of the head after apparently refusing to give his attacker free cigars, police and the victim’s mother said.
Police and union officials said the 37-year-old victim, identified as Nazim Berry, was shot outside Amin Deli at 801 Franklin Ave. in Crown Heights, where he worked as a clerk. .
The slain employee’s mother, Danette Hawley, told reporters near the scene of the crime that the confrontation began inside the store after the suspect asked Berry for black and mild cigars without pay. It is said that
Mr Berry “said no and they started arguing,” said Holly, 58.
She said the suspect fled the store but returned a short time later with a gun and got into a scuffle with her son outside the mall around 4:15 p.m.
“They said they got into an argument … and he pointed the gun at the side of his head, the back of his head, and shot him,” she said.
Berry was rushed to Kings County Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
One person fled on foot after the cold-blooded killing, police said. No arrests have been made.
Holly said her son has worked at the warehouse for a long time and has had previous problems with customers expecting free items.
“I know his heart, so I knew I had to move past the stupidity,” she said, calling her son a “beautiful person.”
Holly noted that Berry suffers from schizophrenia and had a caseworker checking on him.
The mall’s union has announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.
United Bodegas of America (UBA) spokesman Fernando Mateo said the fight between the gunman and Berry started inside the store and spread to the sidewalk.
“A young life was taken for no reason over an argument and an argument over a cigar,” Mateo said at a news conference Monday night. “I mean, it shouldn’t have happened, but it did.”
UBA representatives called on Big Apple judges and prosecutors to “do their jobs” and hold criminals more accountable for the safety of bodega workers.
“We are at a loss,” Mateo said. “New York isn’t what it used to be.”
“We need to take back our city,” he added. “Bodega owners are scared and fear for their lives.”
